Ratchet device



Feb. 18,v 1941. T o, RUE

lRATQHET DEVICE Filed May l5, 1939 WMM,

A .u a 22. 2

ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 18,` 1941 lingol STATES PATENT OFFICE RATCHET DEVICE Theodore O. Rueb, Chicago, Ill., assignor to The Sherman-Klove Co., Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application May 15, 1939, Serial No. 273,606

2 Claims.

strength in the pawls andcoaicting parts. In accordance the present'invention I position the principal reversing devices eccentrically with respect to the head or at one side oi the center and providefmeans actuated by a centrally positoned thumb-piece for operating the reversing mechanism. n

The lobjects of the presentinvention are to provide an improved ratchet device or ratchet Wrench :of the reversible Vtype having novel means for reversing the same; to provide a reversible ratchet wrench adapted to be made in smaller sizes without undue lossof strength and having novel pawl reversing mechanism ,with one of the principal elements positioned at one side of the center of the head of the Wrench; to provide novel reversing mechanism for ratchet devices; and to provide such other advantages and improvenients as will appear more fully from the following description.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating this invention,

lFig. 1 is a plan View of the wrench with the handle broken away for convenience in illustration:y

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View 'taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-13 of Fig.5;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view taken approximately on the line 4-4 of Fig 5 and show-ing the shaft 2l4 in section and the pin I9 in dotted lines; and

Fig. 5 is-a sectional view taken approximately through the center of the wrench with parts broken away.

My improved ratchet device includes a barrel or cylindrical driving member Shaving a handle 'I which may be for-med integrally therewith or applied thereto in vany well known manner. Olne end of the barrel has an inwardly extending flange 8 with -a central opening 9. The longitudinal central portion of the barrel is provided with ratchet teeth I0. These teeth are engaged at times by the teeth III :and I2 at the opposite ends of a reversible pawl I3. This pawl is mounted in a recess t4 in the central portion of a Workengaging head or driven member I5 which is rotatably mounted i-n the barrel or driving member 3, as sho'wn particularly in Figure 5. The driven member is-held in position by a spring ring IIB which lits in grooves in the :adjacent parts to prevent longitudinal movement of the driven member. The driven member has a work-engaging end Il which may be of any desired ibrm for engagement with the parts to be actedupon,I

or may be provided with a socket I8.

The paw-l I3 is pivotally mounted on a pin I9 having its bearings in the driven member whereby the teeth at either end of the pawl maybe moved into operative engagement with the teeth in the bar-rel. The pawl is reversed and either end thereof held in yielding or ratcheting position by means of a, pin or plunger 2D preferably having its projecting end rounded to engage with a curved surface 2li on the adjacent portion of the pawl as shown particularly in Figure 3. The plunger 20 is slidably mounted in a hole or socket 22` which is closed at one end. The pin is urged outwardly or against the curved surface by means of a spring 23 which holds it in operative position for reversing the pawl and also for biasing the engaging end of the pawl toward the barrel teeth. The hole or socket 22 is formed in a stub shaft or rotatable member 24 which is mounted in bearings 25 in the driven member which are positioned so that the aXis of the stub shaft will be parallel to the axis of the driven member but spaced a short distance therefrom, thus providing room for the supporting and operating parts without making them too sm-all for practical purposes.

The stub shaft 24 has a key or projection 26 with iiattened sides for engagement with a slot or keyway 21 in one end of an arm 28 that extends substantially across the upper face of the driven member and terminates in a reduced end or tongue 29 that is adapted to vibrate between the ends of a peripheral ange 30 extending upwardly from the driven member and cut away to provide a recess for the end of the arm.

The lever 28 and coacting parts are swung or actuated by means of a disc 3l which is shouldered to provide a projection to engage with the inner face of the flange 8 and which has an inwardly projecting annular flange 32 having a slot or recess 33 for receiving the tongue 29. The disc 3l has an outwardly extending transverse projection or nger-piece 34 for turning the same.

When the pawl I3 is to be reversed, the operator grasps the inger-piece 34 and turns the disc 3|, which is coaXial with the driving and driven members and therefore readily operable. The turning of the disc in the proper direction causes the arm 28 to be swung or vibrated, which in turn rotates the shaft 24 and causes the plunger to move along the coacting curved surface until it passes dead center whereupon the adjacent end of the pawl will be thrown into engagement with the teeth of the barrel as will be readily understood by those familiar with these devices. While my improved ratchet device may be made in any desired sizes, it will be noted that the drawing is shown on an enlarged scale if compared with the smaller size wrenches for which the invention is particularly applicable.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a ratchet device, the combination of a cylindrical head having internal peripheral teeth and having an inwardly extending flange at one end, a driven member rotatably mounted in the head and having Work-engaging means, said driven member having a transverse opening therein, a pivot mounted in the driven member at a distance from the center thereof and extending through said opening, a double-ended pawl carried by the pivot and adapted to coact with the teeth in the head for reversing the movement of the driven member, a stub shaft mounted in the driven member adjacent to the pawl and having its axis spaced away from the center of the head, a plunger slidably mounted in a transverse hole in said shaft and having its outer end engaging with the pawl, a springbiasing the plunger toward the pawl, said spring and plunger serving to reverse the position of the pawl and also to hold the ends thereof in ratcheting engagement,

an arm secured to the shaft and extending over the end of the driven member, a peripheral flange on said driven member having a recess for receiving the end of 'the arm and limiting the swinging movement thereof, a disc mounted in the head and having a shouldered portion engaging with said flange and also tting within the peripheral flange of the driven member, a slot in said shouldered portion for receiving the end of the lever whereby the disc may vibrate the lever, and a finger-piece on said disc for turning the same.

2. In a ratcheting device, the combination of a driving member including a barrel having inwardly projecting teeth, a driven member rotatably mounted in the barrel, means for holding the driven member in the barrel, a pawl mounted in a transverse recess in the driven member, a pin in the driven member adjacent one side thereof on which the pawl is mounted, said pawl having a curved surface opposite to the axis of the driven member, a shaft mounted in the driven member with its axis at a distance from the axis of the driven member, a spring plunger mounted transversely in said shaft and engaging with said curved surface to swing the pawl and hold it in ratcheting positions, a projection at one end of said shaft, an arm secured to said projection for turning the shaft, means on said driven member for limiting the turning movement of the arm, a disc rotatably mounted in the driven member and having a slot for receiving the end of said arm, said disc also having a portion engaging with a bearing in the end of the barrel, and a linger-piece projecting from said disc for actuating the same.

THEODORE O. RUEB. 

